The present invention pertains to transportation and temperature regulation of consumables. In particular, the present invention pertains to the transportation and temperature regulation of packaged fluids, such as soft drinks.
Insulated coolers for transporting canned drinks and food are a fixture of American culture and are practically required equipment for picnics, sporting events and other outdoor activities. Insulated coolers are also utilized in industrial applications. For example, coolers are used to transport medical supplies and samples for scientific analysis, such as soil samples for environmental testing.
The myriad of potential uses for coolers fueled an almost endless variation in their design. Coolers act as armrests in vehicles. Coolers are designed to wrap around the torso like a hiker""s xe2x80x9cfanny packxe2x80x9d. There are very large coolers and very small coolers. The majority of these coolers, however, all share one thing in common: they contain a cavity, usually rectangular, that holds both the material to be cooled (i.e., can drinks) and the refrigerant (i.e., ice or a frozen insert). These coolers also share the common design feature of some type of lid that completely encloses the material to be cooled and the refrigerant. The lid is intended to extend to life of the refrigerant by reducing heat transfer between the ambient temperature and the refrigerant.
Unfortunately, the lid, along with the body of the cooler, hides the contents of the cooler. This limitation of known coolers is often bothersome when coolers are used at sporting events or other areas with entrance restrictions. For example, many sporting events will allow spectators to carry coolers with soft drinks but not alcoholic beverages. Enclosed coolers are therefore often the subject of a time consuming search by security personnel.
Additionally, the ice that is usually the refrigerant of choice for most coolers eventually melts resulting in cold wet hands or wet food. If frozen inserts are used instead of ice, care must be taken to ensure that the contents of the cooler remain in contact with the inserts otherwise insufficient cooling will take place.
Accordingly, a need exists for a cooler that does not possess the limitations stated above. In particular, a need exists for a cooler that allows its contents to be visible at all times, if desired. Additionally, this cooler should provide close contact between the material to be cooled and the refrigerant while avoiding the problems associated with close contact refrigerants such as crushed ice.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooler that effectively maintains a desired temperature for articles transported therein while avoiding the problems associated with known coolers, namely the concealment of the articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cooler that maintains close contact between the material to be cooled and the refrigerant.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are provided by a unique cooler for carrying packaged beverages. In one embodiment, the cooler comprises a hollow polygon having at least six faces, an enclosed interior, and an opening in at least one face of the hollow polygon. The opening provides fluid communication with the interior of the hollow polygon. In other words, the opening (i.e., drain/fill cap) allows the hollow polygon to be filled with a liquid and subsequently drained. The cooler also comprises at least one cavity extending from one of the polygon""s faces into the interior of the polygon. The cavity is not in fluid communication with the interior of the polygon or the above mentioned opening. For example, water poured into the cavity will not enter the interior of the polygon and flow out the opening and water entering the opening will not flow into the cavity. In many applications, the cavity will be of a size and shape to receive a standard drink can.